"I" Books

"Rachel had The Secret Garden from the library, and Jerry had one of the Altsheler books, and neither one of these books was an 'I' book. They both always opened a book eagerly and suspiciously looking first to see whether or not it was an 'I' book. If it were they would put it aside, not reading it until there was absolutely nothing else. Then, at last, they would read it. But, being an 'I' book, it had to be awfully good for them to like it. Only a few, Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and Swiss Family Robinson, for example, survived the hard 'I' book test."

–Ginger Pye, by Eleanor Estes

Hello! 

A while back I posted a list of twelve Middle Grade books I want to read this summer. One of those was The Witch Family, by Eleanor Estes. Eleanor Estes made me think of Ginger Pye. And Ginger Pye made me think of "I" books.

What is an "I" book?

Well, in case you didn't glean this from the quote at the beginning (or if you didn't read the quote at the beginning), an "I" book is one that is narrated in the first person. For example, "I walked to the library." (I was going to say "store", but that's so cliché and I'd rather go to the library anyway . . . unless we're talking Whole Foods and then, yeah, I'd rather go to the store.)

Anyway, I have mixed feelings about "I" books.

Pros:

• Narration in the first person allows the reader to see inside one person's mind; it makes the story more personal, more immediate. Or it's supposed to.
• Some of my favorite "I" books are Jane Eyre, Ella Enchanted, Beauty, A Separate Peace, and The Lost Husband.

Cons:

• Sometimes, I believe, if the author hasn't thought through their main character enough and given them a strong, distinct personality, narration in the first person can obfuscate the story instead of illuminating it. (I love that word–obfuscate. I've just been waiting for a chance to use it.)
• I mean, if your main character is the one narrating, then all the reader gets to see is commentary from that one character's POV, which is subjective. This might be great for a story! There are circumstances where that is exactly what you need. But in other books . . . no.
• That being said, I couldn't really think of any "I" books that shouldn't be "I" books. Go me.

Creative Literary Uses of First Person Narration:

• Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë. The two characters who narrate in this book aren't actually the main characters. They're just there to hear/tell the story of Catherine and Heathcliff. Most of the book is told from a servant, Nelly's, POV, but the person who's listening to her telling the story is the one actually narrating the book. All I can say is, it's pretty brilliant. 
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is narrated by Nick Carraway, who is also not the main character of the story. He's watching the tragedy of Gatsby and Daisy play out from a distance.

Both of these books use the first person to draw us into the story, but the viewpoints are more objective because the story is not happening to them. They are watching the story happen to the other characters and are telling us about it.

• A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. The main character in this novel, Gene, has been well-developed by the author, but the book is more about his best friend, Phineas, than it is about him. If Gene is well-developed, Finny practically explodes off the page at you, and we get to see his dynamic personality through Gene's eyes.

What do you think of "I" books? What are you favorites?

Thanks for stopping by,
KB